Paul Scholes and Michael Owen's verdict on Bruno Fernandes' red card for Manchester United v Tottenham
Today at 01:30 PM
Bruno Fernandes was sent off for an alleged high challenge on James Maddison during Manchester United’s 3-0 defeat to Tottenham at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Tottenham started like a house on fire because, inside the opening minutes, the rejuvenated Brennan Johnson opened the scoring for the away side.
Ange Postecoglou’s side were all over their opponents – who both played in the Europa League in midweek – and they were lucky it wasn’t more than one goal before Fernandes‘ red card.
As has been the norm for the under-fire Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, his team were far too open and were on the verge of conceding a goal.
From a poor one-v-one miss from Timo Werner to last-ditch defending, the home team were riding their luck and were probably waiting for the half-time whistle to save them.
But minutes before the break, the marmite-like figure Fernandes went chasing after the ball, slipped, caught Maddison high up, who went to ground and the on-field referee, Chris Kavanagh, showcased a straight red.
As you can imagine, that killed the mood even further inside Old Trafford, with the red card then proving to be a big talking point.
Michael Owen admitted that the Manchester United captain was ‘unlucky’ and he didn’t feel a straight red should have been issued.
But Paul Scholes shared an interesting take, whilst he agreed with Owen, he was annoyed and frustrated with the man with the armband for ‘giving the referee an opportunity’ to make such a call, as he told Premier League Productions (29/09/24 at 5:25 pm).
Should Bruno Fernandes have been sent off against Tottenham?
"I thought he was unlucky," said Owen. "I don't think it was a red. I thought he slipped. I thought he did catch him slightly, but I didn't think it was with any force. It was on the shin pad.
"He has tried to flick him and bring him down. But there is no force. It isn't a dangerous challenge. He slips and just flicks his leg out. It doesn't hurt. It flicks him on the shin pad. It isn't even that high. A yellow card."
Scholes responded: "He shouldn't give him a chance, should he? I know he has slipped – it's not a red card. We know it isn't. But why give the referee an opportunity to do it? It's petulant again from the captain, who is probably as bad as any of them in the first half."
Tottenham pile more misery on Manchester United
Minutes into the second half, Manchester United were picking the ball from the back of the net again when Dejan Kulusevski jabbed home Johnson’s cross.
Ten Hag then watched his team show some fight, and in truth, they came close on several occasions to score.
READ MORE:Man United and Liverpool eyeing the new Angel di Maria with Chelsea also keen
But with a 2-0 scoreline and the extra man advantage, Spurs were comfortable and it wasn’t too long before Dominic Solanke was scoring again.
Manchester United were outclassed by Liverpool at the start of the season and now Tottenham have put them to the sword. You just question how long ten Hag will last in the job.
